The Music's All That Matters: A History of Progressive Rock

by Paul Stump

Book by Stump, Paul

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History

384 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1998

Reviews

[severyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine you're travelling and you sit down for a meal in a pub in the evening, perhaps The Ship Inn in Canterbury, with a glass of red wine on the table in front of you, and you're just about to check the food menu when some strange guy with wild hair wanders over with a pint in his hand - 'This seat taken, mate?' - and he sits down next to you, sloshing half an inch over the side of his glass, and pretty much trapping you in the booth, and proceeds to tell you passionately and eruditely everything he's ever thought about prog rock, and but imagine then five hours later you feel like a deer stunned by the headlights of an oncoming truck full of Keith Emerson's keyboards, you've discovered that 2nd phase King Crimson is pretty good and that to your surprise you CAN make it through Peter Gabriel-era Genesis albums in one piece, and that Henry Cow is available on Bandcamp, and also that you're desperate for a wee.

[Alex Handyside · Rating 4 out of 5]

On and off, it took me a few months to finish this book. But that's not because it was boring. To its credit, it is an easy book to put down & pick up again.

It has considerable depth, without being too deep.
I enjoyed the chapters on early influencers.
I started making notes on unfamiliar bands to listen to... by the end of the book it was 3 pages long!!!
This book really opened my eyes to what else is out there.

I would have liked a better global review - Stump bounces around the world and back again when a a few dedicated chapters would have been better.

My main criticism is that the author seemed to enjoy showing off his knowledge & use of obscure words. I consider myself quite well-read, but even I had to stop and look up at least three words (hands up if you know what a 'tocsin' is. I thought it was a typo, but now I know better.) Some I'm sure will be annoyed by all the 'long words'. To those folks I would say 'content over style'.

[Sonstepaul · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s ironic that a book about a genre of music criticized for its bloat is written in an almost unapproachably pretentious style. There’s a fair amount of “taking the piss” behind it, I suppose, but Stump’s subjectivity and snootiness is on every page, and highly distracting. He establishes that prog is only good if British and in a very finite time period (1967-1977), with almost no exceptions. Except Yes: he even tries to claim “Only of a Lonely Heart” is justifiable and not pure sell-out.

It’s too bad. This is a deep book, well researched, but the author’s presumptive commentary is so infuriating that your average reader—on board with the music—just finds himself resentful of the author’s style.

I know it’s the new spin in NF to make author a discernible presence in the work, but this presence is someone you’d never want to talk with, especially about the music you both like. Very distracting, and unnecessarily arrogant.

[Tom Blurbgess · Rating 4 out of 5]

The most insightful/in-depth history on prog I've come across, even though it was written in 1998 (maybe making that even more impressive). I'll probably upgrade to 5-stars if I don't find a better one, since it manages to explore everything unique about the genre in a reasonable length, while having cohesive themes throughout and tying different groups and sub-movements together where appropriate (unlike many that rigorously go band-by-band). While it lacks any kind of musical analysis, Stump has a better awareness than any on the particular neo-Romantic and postmodern inclinations in prog that are constantly battling each other (at least by the time it was written), and also dispels a few myths perpetuated in press coverage. Reckon it's my new go-to whenever I'm wanting to look up any band's history/relevant context.

[Soufiane Sakhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really solid history of progressive rock. I like the additions made with the updated version, though I wish Stump wouldn't have rushed past some bands. Still, great read for any fans of prog rock.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative if a little ham handed stylistically. The section on MAGMA wasn't nearly long enough.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid history of progressive rock. I like the additions made with the updated version, though I wish Stump wouldn't have rushed past some bands. Still, great read for any fans of prog rock.